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Jason was born in Hebburn, South Tyneside and, aged 18, followed his father into the Merchant Navy. But he began to write comedy sketches and, after returning to the North East to study media production at the university, began touring as a stand-up comedian.

His solo show, My Confessions, won critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was named Best International Show at the 2007 New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

In 2011, he created and appeared in Hebburn, a live show about his home town, as part of the Salford Sitcom Showcase. The BBC commissioned two series and a Christmas special of the popular sitcom, partly filmed in the North East.

Lib - Location filming of new BBC TV comedy (sitcom) "Hebburn" written by and starring stand-up comedian Jason Cook, inspired by his own experiences of growing up iin the town. Jason Cook (green coat) plays Ramsey, a friend of the on-screen lead character Jack. Pic Lewis Arnold

Hebburn was voted Best New TV Sitcom in the 2013 Comedy.co.uk Awards, later that same year, it was named Best Drama at the Royal Television Society Awards, and was nominated Best Comedy in the 2014 National Television Awards.

University vice-chancellor professor Peter Fidler said: “Our honoraries have all made highly significant contributions within their fields and will inspire our graduates as they celebrate their academic success and embark on their careers.

“We are proud to pay tribute to them.”

Also receiving honours from Sunderland this week are Football legend Jimmy Montgomery and crime author Ann Cleeves.